


i know more of the stars and sea than i do of what's in your head

by readbetweenthelions



Category: Free!
Genre: Alternate Universe - Bounty Hunters, Frottage, M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-02-04
Updated: 2015-02-04
Packaged: 2018-03-10 13:13:05
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 1
Words: 10,231
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/3291551
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/readbetweenthelions/pseuds/readbetweenthelions
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
      <p>this was a <a href="http://kurooh.tumblr.com/post/108211112177/hello-friends-and-neighbors-as-a-recent-college">commission</a> for tumblr user starsbegantofall!</p>
    </blockquote>





	i know more of the stars and sea than i do of what's in your head

**Author's Note:**

> this was a [commission](http://kurooh.tumblr.com/post/108211112177/hello-friends-and-neighbors-as-a-recent-college) for tumblr user starsbegantofall!

The city is a constant buzz of noise. It’s vehicles rushing here and there everywhere you look, the hum of streetlights and neon signs, footsteps on sidewalks and alarms and shouting and a million small sounds all crashing together in a din that drowns out every thought in Rei’s head. He was raised in the country, he isn’t used to this. But a job is a job.

Rei steps around a wet patch of concrete, shining rainbow with a slick of motor oil. It will be a short walk to the place he’s going. That was an old trick he’d learned – have the taxi drop you off several blocks from where you need to be, in case someone figures out what places you’re sniffing around. Knowing they’re being followed will make any quarry bolt before you can even properly pick up their scent.

Rei counts the increasing numbers on the buildings; 327, 329, 331. There’s a bar at number 353 on this street where Rei has it on good authority that his target has been spending a lot of time. It’s the sort of stupid thing that makes it easy for a hunter like Rei to track a person. If you go somewhere enough that the people there know your face, they start to remember your story, too.

345, 347… a car zips past with its horn blaring, weaving around another car in the middle lane. The cacophony is irritating to say the least, but at least Rei will be off the streets soon enough.

There’s no name on the front of the bar when Rei reaches it, only the number above the doorway. The place doesn’t look _run-down_ , exactly – just neglected enough to blend into the grime of the city, but not so much as to look dirty or abandoned. Rei knows before he walks in that it’s the type of bar where you go to not be noticed. It might be hard to get anything out of anyone about this target.

Music drones below the low murmur of voices and the sounds of glasses being set on wooden tables as Rei enters the bar. The air here is warm, and slightly humid from the breathing and sweating of the patrons. People sit alone or in pairs, ignoring the music and the rerun of a ten year old TV drama that plays on the small TV behind the bar. All in all, the bar is not the most likely place for a fun night out on the town, but there’s nothing really _wrong_ with it.

There are several empty seats at the bar, and Rei perches on one of them. The bartender’s gaze slides over to Rei’s face, and he stands from where he’d been leaning against the counter stocked with bottles of alcohol.

“Scotch and water,” Rei says. The bartender nods, and he busies himself making a drink Rei has no intention of drinking. He’s working, and Rei doesn’t drink on the job. He doesn’t really drink ever, but that’s beside the point.

Rei can’t see the man he’s tracking as the kind of person who would come to a bar like this regularly. Rei’s target is known to be flashy, guilty of several dramatic and theatrical poisonings, all of which had seemed to be isolated incidents until a single common thread had been discovered.

The bartender sets the scotch and water in front of Rei and steps back, glancing over at the TV.

“I’m looking for a man,” Rei says, drawing the bartender’s attention back.

“There’s a gay bar on 24th,” the bartender says, folding his arms. It might be a joke, or it might not be. The bartender’s face is entirely expressionless, and Rei simply cannot tell.

“Ha,” Rei says dryly, hoping the man is just bad at letting on when he’s trying to be funny. “No, I mean a specific one. Perhaps you’ve seen him. His name is Shigino Kisumi. He’s approximately my height, with pink hair.”

“Pink hair?” the bartender scoffs. “No, no one like that in this bar. I’d remember.”

Rei’s heart drops to his stomach. Maybe this had been a false trail, after all. If he doesn’t have this, he essentially has nothing. Despite the sinking feeling, Rei regroups and presses on.

“Are you here every night?” he asks the bartender.

The bartender shrugs. “I own the place, so yeah.”

“Well,” Rei says, “perhaps you could tell me if you recognize this face, then.”

Rei pulls his phone from his pocket and shows the bartender the clearest picture of Shigino it was possible to acquire. Shigino has been a hard man to find from the very start, and knows how to cover his tracks. The picture is head-on, and Rei has always found the small smirk and knowing, upturned eyes to be a little irritating. The bartender glances down at the photo.

“Oh,” the bartender says, “him? Sure, I know him. He’s in here every Saturday, orders the same thing every time – a mojito.”

Rei straightens. “You know him?”

“Sure, but he doesn’t have hair like that. Just a flat brown. Maybe he dyed it.”

“Do you talk to him much when he’s here? Has he ever mentioned where he lives?”

“I don’t know,” the bartender says. “Hey, what’s this about?”

“I – ” Rei stammers, startled by the sudden skepticism. “Ah, he’s a friend of mine. He hasn’t been home in a while and hasn’t called or anything. His mother has been quite distressed.”

“His mother, huh?” the bartender says, scratching at the five o’clock shadow under his chin. “Well, I think one time he might’ve mentioned an apartment or something in the northeast district. Said he didn’t like how far the taxi ride was, but he liked this place so he kept coming.”

An apartment in northeast? There could be hundreds, maybe thousands in that general of an area. “Did he mention the name of the complex?” Rei asks, trying to mask the desperation in his voice.

The bartender shakes his head. “Nah. If he did, I don’t remember. People in here don’t usually say much.”

“That’s quite alright,” Rei says. He suppresses a sigh. This job hadn’t been a sure thing, but the compensation was high enough that Rei was willing to take the risk this time. Shigino has been a real challenge, and this lead hadn’t given him much to go on, but it’s better than nothing at all.

“I hope you find him soon,” the bartender says. “His momma must be worried sick.”

“Right,” Rei says. “Well. Thank you for your time.”

Rei pulls a few bills out of his wallet and places them carefully on the counter alongside the untouched scotch and water. He stands from the barstool and heads towards the door, with a twisting feeling of dread in his stomach at the thought of tracking Shigino down in what is sure to be a plethora of apartment complexes.

As Rei reaches for the handle of the door, it swings open, narrowly missing smacking into the outstretched hand that Rei pulls back swiftly. The man standing in the open doorway looks familiar…

“Rin-san?” Rei says, staring at the man in front of him.

“You,” Rin says. He searches Rei’s face with narrowed, suspicious eyes. “What are you doing here?”

“W – ” Rei starts. He hesitates, glancing towards the bartender. He might need to talk to him again later – it wouldn’t pay to have him know Rei’s whole story about Shigino’s mother was a lie. “Working,” he says, dropping his voice to a whisper.

“Oh?” Rin says, frowning. “Who?”

“None of your business,” Rei spits. He turns back to face the bartender for a moment. “Thank you for all your help, sir!”

“Damn you,” Rin says.

Rei fights the urge to smirk, but knows some of it makes it into his eyes. “I don’t think it will be worth it for you to stay, Rin-san,” Rei says. He pushes past Rin, his shoulder brushing against Rin’s as Rei steps out onto the sidewalk.

“We’ll see,” Rin says. With that, he lets the door swing closed behind him, and leaves Rei out in the noise of the city once again.

 

***

 

The hotel room isn’t much, but then, it’s better not to spend too much money, even on jobs like this. One of the lamps is missing a bulb, the sheets are so starched they’re scratchy, and there’s a faint smell of cigarette smoke even though this is a non-smoking room. Well. Rei doesn’t exactly do this job because he gets to stay in nice hotels.

Rei sits on the edge of the bed, staring at the pattern of the carpet. An Internet search had found 105 apartment complexes in the area of this city that could be considered “northeast.” Given that he has no other leads, he might have to look at every single one of them individually. Rei sighs. He doesn’t have any ideas of how to get around that. And he can only think of a couple of people who might.

Rei pulls his phone from his pocket and flips through his contacts, looking for Makoto Tachibana’s entry. Makoto – and Haruka, too – had been Rei’s mentors in all this. They’d taught him how to play the bounty hunting game, and taught him as many tricks as they possibly could.

Makoto and Haruka don’t play the game anymore, though. The two of them settled down a couple of years past, figuring they’d rather do something safer after their wild years of hunting. They’re still Rei’s important friends, though. And they can usually dig up information that even Rei can’t search out. A relative dead end warrants a call to them. They’d discovered that bar in the first place; maybe they’ll have some idea of how to search for Shigino’s apartment without going around to every building in the northeast area of the city.

Rei lifts the phone to his ear and listens to it ring. It’s smarter to call Makoto, because Haruka rarely answers his phone. After the fourth ring, there is a muffled noise, and then a voice.

“Hello?”

“Makoto-senpai,” Rei greets him.

“Rei!” Makoto says brightly. “It’s good to hear from you! How’s the job?”

Rei pauses. “It’s alright,” he says finally. “Money is money, right?”

That was something Haruka used to say all the time, especially when things got rough. ‘Money is money.’ Ultimately it’s what keeps all of them coming back to these jobs. If all this was being done on a basis that could be considered fully _legal_ , Rei would only get 1/10th of the full reward for each of his catches, on a good day. But Rei – and Rin, and Makoto and Haruka, too – do things a little more under the table. They’re not dirty, per se, just… in a space where the law is willing to turn a blind eye. They get their criminals, and Rei gets almost all of his targets’ bounty. It’s a win for both parties, either way.

“That’s true,” Makoto says. “Are you just calling to catch up?”

“I guess so,” Rei says. Asking for help in catching this killer can wait until later. He doesn’t get to see or hear much from Makoto and Haruka these days, so it’s fine to just talk for a little while. “Where’s Nagisa-kun?”

“Oh, halfway across the world, I’m sure,” Makoto says. “Don’t worry about him. Things always work out for Nagisa.”

Nagisa certainly has a knack for finding his way out of difficult situations – it’s just too bad that he also has a knack for getting himself into them. Rei sees Nagisa even more rarely than he sees Makoto and Haruka, mostly by virtue of the fact that Nagisa never stays in one place for very long. Still, they’re old friends, and Rei likes to hear that Nagisa is doing well.

Old friends…

“Oh, that reminds me,” Rei says. “I ran into Rin-san.”

“Rin?” Makoto says, voice tinged with surprise. “What was he doing there? What is he working on?”

“Apparently, the same case,” Rei says, unable to hide the bitterness in his voice.

“Oh.”

Rei isn’t sure why he brought Rin up. Maybe it’s because he knows Makoto and Haruka would like hearing about Rin.

“How is he doing?” Makoto asks.

Rei isn’t sure why Makoto is asking him. Shouldn’t he ask Rin himself? Or do he and Haruka not hear from Rin much anymore?

“He seems fine to me,” Rei says. “He warned me not to take this case. He said it was too dangerous for me. He probably just wants the reward all to himself…”

Makoto sniffs. “He’s just looking out for you, Rin.”

“Makoto-senpai,” Rei says, “you’re far too nice.”

Makoto laughs on the other side of the phone.

“Is Haruka-senpai around?” Rei asks.

There’s a short pause, and Rei can hear Makoto’s muffled voice asking something. “He’s here,” Makoto says after a minute. “But you know him. Hates the phone.”

“I know. It was worth trying, at least.”

“So,” Makoto says. “Why did you _really_ call?”

Rei sighs. Of course he’d have to get to it, eventually. “The lead you gave me turned something up, but not anything very good,” Rei says. “The lead said the target mentioned an apartment in the northeast region of the city, but there’s hundreds of apartment complexes in northeast.”

“And you want to know the fastest way to find out which one Shigino’s in,” Makoto says.

“Yes.”

There’s a long, heavy pause. “Well, Rei,” Makoto says with a sigh, “sometimes there’s nothing for it but legwork.”

“So there’s nothing you can tell me that might help.” Rei is disappointed, certainly, but not angry. Makoto is right. Sometimes you can’t get away from legwork. Rei will just have to do it all the long way. “Well. Thank you anyway, Makoto-senpai.”

“Are you really sure you want to go after Shigino?” Makoto says. “Maybe you should try someone less crafty and more… crime-of-passion.”

“I need the money,” Rei says simply. That’s part of the reason, certainly, but now Rei is determined to catch Shigino for another reason. If they all think Shigino can outsmart him, then Rei is going to prove them wrong.

“Well,” Makoto says, “be safe.”

“I will.”

With that, Rei hangs up the phone. He lifts his glasses to rub the bridge of his nose, and takes a long breath. He might as well get some sleep now – he has a long day ahead of him tomorrow.

 

***

 

Rei sighs and stuffs his hands in his pockets. This is the twentieth apartment building he’s visited today, and so far, not a single landlord or doorman has given him any information about Shigino. The sun has already gone down, and the lights of the city have sparked up around Rei. He knows he has perhaps an hour left where he can actually ask around about Shigino before people will start disappearing from front desks for the night.

Rei shrugs, shifting his jacket around his shoulders. His footsteps echo down an alley as he passes – but his footsteps are not the only sound.

“Hey,” a voice calls from the alley. Normally Rei wouldn’t pay it any attention, figuring it to be someone selling something or begging money, but this time the voice is familiar. He steels himself and ducks into the alleyway.

As expected, it’s Rin. He’s dressed darkly, slouching in a hoodie and with his long red hair poking out from under a beanie. Rei smells cigarette smoke.

“What are you doing here?” Rin says.

“That’s bad for you,” Rei says, staring at the glowing end of Rin’s cigarette.

“Huh?” Rin says, eyebrows knitting. He follows Rei’s gaze down to the smoldering cigarette perched between two of his fingers. “Oh, I don’t smoke.”

“You’re holding a cigarette. It’s lit.”

Rin bristles. He motions to his outfit with the hand not holding the cigarette. “It’s part of the disguise! The disguise!”

“Secondhand smoke will still kill you.”

“You’re so uptight.”             

Rei scoffs, turning away and looking back out towards the sliver of brightly lit street just visible at the end of the alleyway.

“Look,” Rin says. “This guy is really dangerous. You should go home.”

“ _I_ should go home? I’ve been tracking him for months, you thief!”

Rin sighs and taps ash from the cigarette. “You’re going to get hurt,” Rin says. “Mako and Haru would kill me if they knew I let you get yourself into this.”

Rei snorts, indignant at the mention of Makoto and Haruka. “I’m not an infant,” Rei says. “I know what I’m doing. This is my job, and I learned from the best.”

Rin looks levelly at Rei in the half-light, judging just how worked up Rei has gotten. Rin has always made Rei feel like this – frustrated, angry, childish, and sure, maybe a little jealous. Rin, Makoto, and Haruka are old friends, after all, and Makoto and Haruka had been Rei’s mentors and still remain his good friends. Rei supposes he’s a little jealous of Rin, but that’s not the whole story. This isn’t the first time Rin has interfered in one of Rei’s jobs. Rei recalls one particularly lucrative case specifically that Matsuoka Rin had swooped in and taken at the last second.

“Why are you here, anyway?” Rei asks. “For all you know, Shigino could be anywhere in this city. Why are you sneaking around right on top of me?”

“I asked your bartender about our guy,” Rin says. The cigarette is burning ever closer to the filter, and Rei snorts against the smell of the smoke. “He seemed a little upset to hear Shigino is a criminal, and that you lied about his poor mother.”

“You _told him?_ ” Rei gasps. “What if I needed him later?”

“For what? He didn’t know anything,” Rin says. “All he had was ‘some apartment in northeast.’ _I_ didn’t need him, _you_ didn’t need him, and I don’t know why you waste your time making up these cute little stories.”

“You catch more flies with honey – ” Rei starts.

“ – than with vinegar, I know, I know, don’t spout Mako’s words at me, I’ve heard it all,” Rin interrupts. “Look, go home. I know you think you can handle it, Rei, but you probably can’t.”

“Don’t tell me what to do.”

“Fine. Search every apartment complex in this city if that’s what you’re going to do. It isn’t going to work, ‘cause he’s gonna bolt before you get close at this rate. Even if you find him, he’ll rip you apart. He’s too good for you.”

“I know what I’m doing!” Rei snaps. “You aren’t that much better than me just because you’ve been doing it a couple years longer. I’ve been doing this job for years, too. I’ve caught plenty of guys like Shigino. I’ve killed people. You’re not the only one who can take difficult jobs.”

Rin tosses the cigarette butt down and grinds it out under his shoe. “This isn’t about how many people you’ve caught or how many you’ve killed. It’s about how this one might kill _you_.”

“Well, he might kill _you_ , too!” Rei says hotly.

“So?” Rin says. “That’s not your problem.”

Rei stares at Rin for a moment. “I – ” he starts. “This… I don’t want to have this conversation anymore. I’m not leaving this case alone, so don’t try to stop me anymore.”

“Fine.”

“Okay.”

Rei gives a frustrated huff. They sound like a bickering couple. Rei would rather be doing anything else, like looking for Shigino in another dozen apartments, even if he isn’t getting any information.

“Have you found anything?” Rin asks.

“No,” Rei responds. “But why would I tell you if I had?”

Rin sighs. He shoves his hands into the pockets of the hoodie he’s wearing, and pushes past Rei. “Yeah, I guess you’re right,” Rin says, heading towards the entrance of the alley. “See you around, Rei.”

Rin rounds the corner out of sight, leaving Rei alone in the dark alley.

“Damn you,” Rei says to himself under his breath. He waits for a few more seconds, then leaves the alley and heads in the opposite direction of Rin. Rei figures he’ll call it a night – there’s no way he’d get anything in the rest of the evening, anyway.

 

***

 

It is around three in the morning that Rei wakes up with an idea that he can only call a stroke of genius.

“He has to _eat_ ,” Rei says out loud to himself in the darkness.

Immediately, Rei sits up. That’s it – Shigino has to be buying is food somewhere, and if he’s a rational person, he probably shops at the store closest to his apartment building. If Rei can find some cashier who recognizes Shigino’s face, he can check the apartment buildings in the vicinity of the store. It will at least narrow the search down a little, and right now Rei will take anything he can get.

Rei has had no luck asking landlords and doormen for information. He should have anticipated that they wouldn’t give out information about their tenants so easily. He supposes they have privacy to protect, though it certainly makes Rei’s job harder. Cashiers won’t be nearly so withholding of information, though – at least Rei hopes so. Rei lies awake for two hours in the middle of the night, too busy working through the logistics to fall back asleep.

When Rei wakes the next morning, he showers quickly and then pores over a list of grocery and convenience stores in the northeast of the city. There are five convenience stores and four groceries – better by far than checking a hundred apartment buildings and getting no information. Someone is bound to have seen Shigino in one of these stores.

By noon, Rei has checked five of the nine stores on his list, and so far he hasn’t learned anything. Rei takes a deep breath before stepping into the sixth store – a convenience store with rows of junk food and a wall of coolers stocked full of drinks.

The clerk is a young lady, perhaps no older than eighteen or nineteen. There’s a stripe of blue in her hair, and she looks like the kind of girl who wears combat boots when she’s not in a uniform for work. The type of girl that intimidated Rei in high school, in short. She looks bored, and watches Rei with unimpressed, heavy-lidded eyes. Rei coughs. He figures he shouldn’t waste time browsing as if he’s going to buy something. He steps up to the counter.

“Excuse me,” Rei says.

“Yeah?” the girl says. She taps her fingers absently on the counter as she studies Rei.

“I’m – ah,” Rei says. The girl’s finger tapping is distracting. Rei wishes she would look away for just one second, to relieve a little of this pressure. “I’m looking for someone…”

The cashier watches Rei take his phone from his pocket. He holds it out for her to view the picture of Shigino on the screen. She glances down at the picture, then back up at Rei.

“Um… have you seen him?”

“Yeah, I seen him.”

Rei blinks. “You – you have?”

“Yeah,” the cashier says. She shifts her weight to her other foot and folds her arms across her chest. “He’s in here once or twice a week. Doesn’t have hair that color though. It’s brown. The pink in that picture was cooler though.”

“You’re sure you’ve seen this man?” Rei says incredulously. This is the first breakthrough he’s had since the bar a couple of nights ago, and the only thing that’s put him any closer to catching Shigino.

“Yeah, I’m sure,” the cashier says. Her eyebrows furrow, and she frowns. “Why? Look, mister, are you going to buy something or not?”

“Ah – right, sorry…” Rei says. Quickly he turns and grabs a couple of candy bars from the shelf behind him. It’s worth a little money for the information he’s gotten, even when he won’t eat the candy bars.

The cashier takes Rei’s cash and slides the candy bars and his change across the counter at him.

“Thank you,” Rei tells her, “very much.”

“Sure, whatever,” she replies.

 

***

 

Rei climbs out of a taxi at an apartment building near the convenience store he’d visited earlier that Shigino had been frequenting. He glances around, trying to figure out how to get into this building. It seems that he’ll need a card to get into this building, and he’s not sure how he’s going to get one of those. Rei remembers that he should try not to look suspicious, and tries to look a little more nonchalant.

A young woman is getting out of her car with a pair of paper bags balanced on her hips. She heads towards the main door of the building, and Rei sees his chance. He jogs to catch up with her just as she’s opening the door.

“Hold the door, please,” Rei says. The girl leaves her foot against the door just long enough for Rei to catch up and pull the door open a little wider. So he’s in, but how will he know if Shigino is even living here? “Ah – excuse me?”

The girl turns to look at him. “Um… hi?” she says.

“Hi,” Rei says, trying his best to look bemused. “I’m headed to my friend’s apartment, but I’ve forgotten what number it is. Could you maybe help me out?”

Rei hopes this doesn’t sound too flimsy. Immediately he thinks of a dozen ways a person who was sincere about this problem could solve it. He could call his hypothetical friend, or he could have written down the address, or something. This girl will see right through it…

“Um,” the girl says, “sure.”

“Really? Thanks,” Rei says. Rei fumbles in his pocket for his phone. Since he isn’t sure what the alias Shigino is using is, he can’t ask her and use his name, so his only option is to show her the picture of Shigino on his phone and hope she recognizes him. She cranes her neck to glance between the paper bags she’s holding at the picture. “Do you know him? I hope I’m at the right building.”

“Oh, sure,” the girl says, nodding. She shifts her bags in her grasp and leans her hip against the frame of the door. “I think he’s on the third floor. 312, maybe. I’ve seen him around there, anyway.”

“Thank you,” Rei says, the relief in his voice very much real.

Rei follows the girl to the elevator. She presses the button for the sixth floor, and Rei presses the button for the third floor.

“Good luck finding your friend’s apartment,” the girl says.

Rei smiles at her before he steps off the elevator. He hopes he can rely on her information – this is the closest he’s been, and if he doesn’t turn up anything here, he’s not sure where else to pick up leads. Rei steps carefully down the hall, scared of being discovered and ejected from the building before he can properly investigate. He draws closer to apartment number 312, until he finally stops at the door in question.

Rei examines the small nameplate by the door. It says simply, “Shigino.”

He’s not using an alias at all? Something pricks uncomfortably in Rei’s gut, a spreading uneasiness that Rei does his best to quell. It’s a little odd, sure, that such a careful criminal isn’t using an alias here… but at least Rei knows he’s in the right place.

Rei tries the handle of the door and is surprised to find it unlocked. Rei’s heart skips a beat. Is Shigino home? The situation is strange, but Rei knows he can’t turn back now. It’s either press ahead, or give up this bounty and all the time he’s poured into it. Rei makes sure he has his hand on the pistol at his waist as he opens the door.

The apartment Rei enters sets him on edge the moment he steps into it. There’s no furniture in it at all. The place is completely empty. Rei’s heart sinks. Shigino can’t have been living here. There’s nothing here, except –

Rei hears a sound and brings his gun up, bracing himself. If Shigino is here after all, then it’s a huge stroke of luck. Rei moves as silently as possible into the next room, his nerves on edge and braced to act quickly.

There’s someone in the room. Rei’s heart jumps and he clicks the safety off on his gun – then he recognizes a person who is very different from the one Rei is here to find.

“Rin-san?” Rei says, lowering his gun.

Rin spins around, eyes wide and body tense with surprise. When he recognizes Rei, his shoulders relax a bit, and Rei notes Rin’s hand dropping away from his waist, where he has a gun of his own concealed.

“Rei?” Rin says, squinting at Rei’s face. “I told you to go home!”

Rei snorts. “What, and let you have the bounty?” Rei scoffs.

“Yes!”

Rei grits his teeth. Of course this was all about the bounty. Rin’s act of concern had been good enough that for a second, Rei might have thought Rin might genuinely be worried for his safety – not that he needed to be. Well, Rei isn’t going to let go of this money either. Especially not after Rin tried so hard to shake him off.

“How did you find this place?” Rei asks.

“A neighbor willing to tell me information I ask for, with enough money in his palm.”

Rei breathes a heavy sigh. Rin’s style is completely different from Rei’s own, but it certainly gets results. After all, they’ve both ended up in the same spot at the same time.

“You should leave,” Rin says, interrupting Rei’s thoughts.

“Why?” Rei says. “So you can steal this case from me after I’ve done all this work?”

“I’m not _stealing_ anything,” Rin says hotly.

“This is far from the first case you’ve stolen from me, Rin-san!” Rei says pointedly, turning his nose up though he knows Rin won’t see the gesture.

“You couldn’t have handled some of them back then,” Rin says. “I have a scar on my stomach that’ll prove it for at least one of them.”

There’s a sullen silence for a moment as the two of them study each other. Rei doesn’t want to give up this bounty, but Rin isn’t going to give it up either. As much as Rei hates to compromise with Rin, he can’t see a way around this that will let him keep this whole bounty.

“Look, we’ll – we’ll split the bounty, alright?” Rei says. “Fifty-fifty. It’s a lot of money. Even half of it is enough for the work we’ve both done.”

“I don’t want to share with you,” Rin says. “I want you to go home.”

“No way,” Rei bristles.

Rin rolls his eyes. “Look, Rei, this isn’t about the – ” Rin stops short of what he had been going to say. Rei sees Rin’s eyes widen, his face a mask of alarm.

There’s a sharp pain at the side of Rei’s neck. He lifts a hand to touch the spot, not really feeling a wound. The pain fades fast, and Rei isn’t sure what caused it. Rei is vaguely aware of Rin’s hand dropping to his own waist, where his gun is still tucked.

“Rei!”

Rei sees something rush past him. Rei recognizes a familiar face in his peripheral vision – familiar not because he’s met this person before, but because he’s been trying to meet him for weeks now. Shigino moves quickly, dealing a swift jab at Rin. Rin tries to knock Shigino’s hand aside, and almost succeeds, but Rei watches a thin needle prick Rin’s hand regardless of his efforts.

The hand Rei had clapped to his neck feels strange, like it’s going numb at the fingertips. His arm feels heavy, and his knees feel weak. The hand holding his gun feels shaky, and before Rei realizes it, he’s dropped the pistol on the carpet. Rei wobbles a little, then loses his balance. Rei’s knees crumble, and after they hit the floor, he tumbles sideways. Rei looks up at Rin, who is already beginning to look unsteady himself.

Rin reaches out for Shigino as he sways, but Shigino dodges his grasp easily. Rin stumbles, and tries to catch himself on limp arms as he falls to the ground.

What is this? Rei’s extremities feel numb, and his vision is going fuzzy around the edges. His thoughts are slowing, too. This must be some kind of poison – it’s exactly Shigino’s modus operandi. For a moment Rei’s heart beats faster with the fear that this will be where he dies, but this toxin is slowing his pulse and draining him of the energy to be afraid.

Shigino stands over the two of them. He nudges Rin with his foot, and Rin reaches out with a clumsy hand for his ankle and misses.

“You guys are really stupid, huh?” Shigino says. His grin would be amiable, if it wasn’t for the sinister look in his eyes. “You people are so easy to bait. I knew this would work on whoever decided to come after me.”

“Easy?” Rei says. His words feel clumsy, like his tongue isn’t where it should be. “Wasn’t – it wasn’t that… easy…”

Shigino laughs. “It _wasn’t_ that easy? I thought I made it easy for you people to fall into my trap. Of course I wouldn’t make it so easy to find where I’ve _really_ been hiding.”

“Sh… shut u – up…” Rin says. Rei glances over and sees through his own clouding vision that Rin’s eyelids are drooping.

“Good night,” Shigino says. He wiggles his fingers, a small wave goodbye.

“Shhhit….” Rin says.

_Yeah_ , Rei thinks as he slips into unconsciousness. _You’re right about that, Rin-san._

 

***

 

When Rei wakes, he finds himself sitting upright. He’s leaning against something – solid, but warm, which rules out a wall, and… breathing?

Rei twists his head to look behind him and catches sight of red hair. Rin. Rei wriggles a little and feels tightness around his limbs. A glance down at himself confirms – he’s bound tightly with rope, tight enough to dig into his skin. Well. The upside of the situation is that he and Rin aren’t dead yet.

Rei looks around at his surroundings. They’re sitting in the middle of a wide space, something like an empty warehouse. The light is dim from the small windows at the top of the high walls, as it’s likely approaching dusk outside.

Rei feels Rin begin to wake behind him. He can feel Rin struggling against the ropes just as Rei had minutes before.

“Rin-san,” Rei says.

“Ngh…” Rin groans. “Rei? Where are we?”

“I have no idea,” Rei replies.

“What happened?”

“He drugged us,” Rei says. “It must have been some kind of toxin to knock us out… Really, I’m not sure why we’re still alive. It doesn’t seem like Shigino’s style. Shouldn’t he have just poisoned us and let us die?”

“Well, I’m glad he didn’t,” Rin says. “So, the apartment was a trap.”

“It seems that way, yes.”

“How’d you find the place, anyway?”

“I figured he’d have done his shopping as close to his apartment as possible,” Rei says. “And since there’s only a few places to shop for food in northeast, I could narrow it down to smaller ranges by finding out if anyone recognized him at any of the stores, and then working outwards from there. Why? How did you find it?”

“Honestly?” Rin says. Rei feels Rin shift against his back, Rin’s hands tugging at the rope that binds both their wrists. “It was a lucky guess.”

There’s a long pause, the silence ringing in the large, bare space.

“Seriously?” Rei asks.

“Seriously. I picked a random apartment building and got lucky.”

Rei shakes his head. Rin’s style is really very different from his own, but it had been good enough to catch up with Shigino just as quickly as Rei. Both of their strategies had worked. It was just a pity that they had both landed themselves in such a difficult situation.

“So where’s Shigino, then?” Rin asks.

“I don’t know,” Rin says. “But what he’ll do when he comes back…”

They both let the implication hang between them. Shigino will return and kill them both. Rei can’t see a reason for Shigino keeping them alive much longer, so he’s certain Shigino will just want to get rid of them. Maybe he’ll ask a few questions, play with them a little, but there’s no way he’ll leave them alive.

Rei feels Rin’s spine straighten against his own. “We have to get out of here, Rei.”

“How? We’re tied so tight we can’t move. There’s no way we could even stand up and walk out of here still tied together.”

“What if I…” Rin says, “what if I chew through this rope?”

There’s a beat of silence, just long enough to let Rei take in what Rin had suggested. Then Rei bursts out laughing.

“You’re going to _what?_ ” Rei laughs. “Rin-san, don’t be ridiculous.”

“Hey! Stop laughing! I’ve been told I have very sharp teeth!” Rin shifts against Rei’s back, squirming to look over his shoulder at Rei.

The last of Rei’s chuckles die out slowly. “Sharp enough to gnaw through rope?” Rei says. “Look, I just don’t think that’s going to happen.”

“Well, do you have any better ideas?” Rin snaps. “He might leave us here for _days_ , you know. I don’t want to starve to death tied to _you_. We should at least _try_ to escape.”

Rei bristles. “I don’t want to die tied to _you_ either!”

“I don’t care what you say,” Rin says. “I’m going to do whatever it takes to get out of these ropes.”

Rin’s solution isn’t logical, and probably won’t work, but Rei has to respect that he’s trying. Regardless of how stupid he thinks Rin’s solution is, it’s not like Rei has anything better to offer. Rin shifts behind him, trying to lean his head down enough to get the rope around his chest into his mouth. Rin makes a few exasperated noises, and then a muffled triumphant one.

“Got it,” Rin says, the rope between his teeth.

Rei doesn’t reply. It’s a stupid plan, but it’s the only thing they have. He lets Rin work to save their lives.

There’s silence in the warehouse for a long time, save for a few frustrated grunts from Rin. Rei loses track of how long they sit there with Rin working at the rope with his teeth, but it feels like hours. Rei doesn’t say anything to Rin – he won’t be able to respond, anyway, with that rope between his teeth.

After a while, Rei clears his throat. “Rin-san,” he says. “I’m… sorry I didn’t listen to you. You were right. This case was dangerous and I should have… I should have gone home when you told me to.”

Rin spits out rope fibers before he speaks. “It’s – it’s okay,” Rin says. “I was just trying to keep you safe. I was serious when I said Mako and Haru would kill me if I let something bad happen to you. We really care about you, you know?”

“I – thank you,” Rei says. “I’m sorry for accusing you of trying to steal this case from me. It’s just that this was supposed to be a lot of money and I need it, and I didn’t trust you.”

“Hey. Stop talking like we already lost, okay? We can still get out of here and get that cash.”

Rei feels Rin bend his neck again, worrying his teeth at the rope. It still seems like a foolish idea, but if it works…

“Look, Rei,” Rin says. His speech is slightly muffled, and Rei figures he probably still has the rope between his teeth. “If you’d gone home like I told you to, I’d probably have ended up in this warehouse like this alone. So… I’m kind of glad you’re with me. I’m glad you didn’t leave, because I couldn’t do this alone.”

“Rin-san…”

Rin doesn’t say anything else, and goes back to chewing at the rope.

After a while of sitting in silence, Rin begins to laugh.

“What is it, Rin-san?” Rei asks, craning his head to look back at Rin.

“You said this was a stupid idea,” Rin says. “But I’m almost through!”

“R-really? That’s – ”

Rei feels Rin bend forward and work at the rope with renewed vigor. There’s relative silence for a minute, and then a triumphant yell as Rei feels the ropes loosen.

It takes a moment to shrug themselves out of the rope restraints, and when they do they stand and regard each other for a moment.

“Free at last,” Rin says.

“Free at last,” Rei repeats.

They look around the warehouse, each of them examining what they couldn’t see before.

“There’s a door back there,” Rin says, pointing towards the direction Rei had been watching before.

“But there’s a door over there, too,” Rei says, pointing behind Rin.

“Can we get out of either?”

Rei shrugs. He jogs towards the door Rin had pointed out, crossing the wide space quickly on long legs. He opens the door and peers inside.

“There’s stairs headed down,” Rei calls to Rin. “It looks like some kind of tunnel.”

“So I guess that’s not the way out, then,” Rin calls back.

Rei jogs back to rejoin Rin, leaving the door to the tunnel open.

“We should get out of here,” Rin says as Rei draws close to him.

“If we leave now, we’ll lose him,” Rei says.

“Yes,” Rin says, “but I don’t want to _die_. Let’s get out of here and cut our losses.”

Rei is about to protest, but is interrupted by the faint slamming of a car door and his blood running cold.

“Shit,” Rin says. “What if that’s him?”

“He has our guns,” Rei says. “If he sees we’re free, he’ll kill us immediately.”

There’s a look of panic on Rin’s face, and he looks around for some way to escape. He snatches up the rope again from where it lies on the ground. “Look, we’ll just – we’ll wrap ourselves up again and that way he won’t know. And when we get the chance to move, we’ll just – burst out of the ropes, right?”

“Do you think this is some kind of action thriller?” Rei snaps. “That’ll never work! He’ll suspect, and even if he doesn’t, there’s no way we’ll get ourselves together quick enough to stop him from shooting us – ”

“We don’t have any other choice!”

Rei stares at Rin for a second, studying the desperate, urgent look on his face in the darkness. “I know,” Rei says.

Rin shoves the end of the rope into one of Rei’s hands, and then wraps the rope around Rei’s chest several times. He loops some around Rei’s wrists, then twists himself into the rope as well. Rin finally pins himself against Rei’s back, and the two of them carefully lower themselves until they’re sitting on the floor once more. Rin is finishing up twisting rope around his wrists when the lights of the warehouse flicker on.

Rin and Rei freeze. From the way he’s facing, Rei can’t see the entrance of the warehouse, but he can hear footsteps echoing in the space.

“It’s him,” Rin whispers.

“Well,” Shigino calls in a loud voice as he approaches them. “I see you were both good boys while I was gone.”

Rei rolls his eyes and Rin scoffs quietly. These criminals always think they’re the supervillain of some big budget action movie – they always go for the dramatic.

“You knocked us out,” Rin says. “That poison didn’t kill us.”

“Of course it didn’t. Are you two stupid?” Shigino says. His voice is close now, and Rei suspects that at any moment he’ll draw close enough for Rei to turn his head and see him. “I’m a _poisoner_. If anyone knew how to knock you idiots out without killing you, it would be me.”

Rei feels Rin inhale deeply behind him, and knows he is probably also rolling his eyes and getting ready for a retort. Rei pushes his hand on Rin’s back to quiet him.

Shigino circles around Rin and Rei, examining them. Rei keeps his face still. It looks as if Shigino doesn’t suspect that they’ve managed to get themselves loose, and it wouldn’t pay for Rei’s expression to be what alerts him to it.

Shigino loses interest in Rei quickly, and moves away. He moves out of Rei’s field of vision, and Rei squeezes his eyes shut tight, his heart pounding in his ears.

“So, how much is my bounty?” Shigino asks. His voice sounds close, and Rei turns his head to see Shigino leaning over Rin with a devious grin on his face. “I hope it’s a lot.”

Rei feels Rin release the rope in his hand, and the rope loosens around the both of them. Rin struggles out of the rope and darts a foot out, catching Shigino around the ankle and sending him tumbling backwards. Rei hears the soft _whumph_ of Shigino landing flat on his back, and then the clatter of one of their guns skittering across the floor. Rin and Rei struggle free of the ropes as Shigino gathers himself and begins to stand.

Rin throws himself at Shigino just as Shigino straightens. Rei watches in terror as Shigino raises the second gun from his waist. Rin catches Shigino’s wrist, wresting it up and pointing the gun at the ceiling of the warehouse. Rei finally manages to make himself move, and crawls towards the gun on the floor.

Shigino wrests himself from Rin’s grasp, sending them both tumbling to the floor again. Shigino scrambles up first, bolting before Rin and Rei can gather themselves. Rei scrabbles for the other gun, grabbing it in one hand just in time to watch Shigino vanish into the wide, dark doorway at the end of the warehouse – into the tunnel they’d discovered before.

“Come on,” Rin says, standing.

Rei nods. The two of them follow Shigino through the door and down the flight of stairs into a tunnel. There are lights every yard or so, making visibility poor. Nonetheless, Rin and Rei run after Shigino into the darkness.

Rei can hear Shigino’s footsteps ahead of them, and it seems as if they’re closing in. Finally, Rei catches sight of his back under one of the lights, and picks up his pace to catch him.

Alarmed by Rin and Rei on his heels, Shigino whirls around for one second, stopping only long enough to bring a pistol up to the level of his chest. Rei hardly has time to panic before Shigino’s finger squeezes the trigger, and a shot loud enough to crash in Rei’s ears like a clap of nearby thunder sounds.

Rei recovers from the ringing bang of the gunshot in the small space and sees Shigino’s retreating back once again. By the time Rei gets his gun up and aimed, Shigino is out of range. Rei takes a step forward to follow after him, but stops dead in his tracks when he hears a long, low groan from the floor beside him.

In the dim light, Rei can see Rin clutching his arm tightly, face twisted into a pained grimace. That gunshot – it must have hit Rin’s arm.     

“Rin-san!” Rei screeches, flinging himself to Rin’s side. “Rin-san!”

Rin grunts, and plants a hand squarely in the middle of Rei’s chest, keeping him at a short distance.

“’M fine,” Rin says. “Get him. I’ll catch up.”

“Rin-san,” Rei says.

“I said go, idiot! If you don’t get him now, neither of us get paid.”

Rei feels sick to his stomach, but stands anyway. He can hear Shigino’s footsteps echoing down the tunnel, and knows that if he doesn’t go now, Shigino will escape. And if that happens, there’s no way they’ll ever find him again.

“Shhh _hhit_ ,” Rei swears.

“Did you just swear?” Rin asks, voice teasing even through the pain. “F-first time for everything.”

Rei bolts away from Rin, not wasting time with a response to Rin’s comment. He has to catch Shigino first. Afterwards he can worry about Rin’s taunting.

“Good thing you ran track in high school,” Rin’s voice calls. For a moment, Rei is stunned. He can’t believe Rin remembered that... “Get him alive!”

Rei nods, though he knows Rin can’t see it from this distance. Rei picks up his speed, his long legs rushing him down the tunnel after Shigino.

For a moment, all Rei hears is his own breath in his throat and the rushing of air past his ears, and the slapping of his feet and Shigino’s on the concrete floor of the tunnel. He just has to run. If he runs fast enough, he’ll get Shigino in range, and then he’ll…

Rei catches the flash of movement ahead of him, perhaps three or four yards ahead of him. Still too far for Rei to stop and aim and still catch Shigino with a bullet. Rei has to keep running, has to catch up to Shigino, like he would have on a racetrack –

Rei fires a warning shot into the ceiling above him, knowing it will upset Shigino’s composure. Maybe he’ll startle bad enough to stop or slow down or stumble, and then Rei will catch him. Three yards away, Rei sees Shigino turn around to look back towards Rin. Shigino veers a little, since isn’t looking where he’s going, and slows down to correct himself. Rin closes a half a yard, then a full yard. With his heart thudding in his ears and blood pulsing to every muscle in his body, Rei stops dead. He brings the gun up, aims it, and fires two shots at Shigino’s feet.

There is a loud shriek in the ringing echo of the gunshots, and Rei watches Shigino fall forward, hands catching his fall and the gun in his palm skittering away across the concrete. Rei rushes up to him just as Shigino rolls onto his side and curls in on himself, his hand gripping tightly around the back of his ankle where one of Rei’s bullets had caught him.

Rei wastes no time wrenching Shigino’s hands away and behind his back, with a knee firmly on Shigino’s spine. Shigino grunts with pain and wriggles under Rei’s hold, but Rei doesn’t let him up. Rei holds Shigino’s wrists tightly, keeping his struggling to a minimum.

It strikes Rei that now, with his hand on the back of Shigino’s head to press his face against the concrete and his knee on Shigino’s back and Shigino held and crippled, would be a good time for some sort of snappy one-liner. Unfortunately, Rei has never been much for snappy one-liners, though he is sure Rin would have had one if he’d been here at this moment. Rei catches his breath and prays that Rin is alright.

Shigino squirms under Rei once more, trying his hardest to buck Rei off. Rei holds him tighter. “It’s better for you not to struggle,” Rei says. He hears the weariness and breathlessness of his own voice, and resolves that he should try to make it to the gym more often so these sprints don’t leave him completely winded. “You’re worth more alive, so I don’t want to have to kill you, but I will.”

Shigino struggles for a moment longer, then goes limp. “Damn you,” he breathes.

“Yeah, yeah,” says a voice behind Rei. Relief floods Rei’s body. Rin’s footsteps are slow and easy behind them, and eventually Rin draws up alongside Rei. “Nice job, kid.”

“Don’t call me a kid,” Rei says, but his admonition lacks any of its usual punch.

“Nice shot,” Rin says, nodding towards the bleeding heel of Shigino’s foot. Rin places his foot on Shigino’s neck, allowing Rei the chance to stand up. “Let’s get the hell out of here.”

Rei nods. He leans down and hauls Shigino to his feet, steadying him with a hand gripped around Shigino’s elbow on the same side of his body as his injured foot. Rin ushers Shigino forward with a hand on his shoulder.

“Fuck you,” Shigino spits.

“I’d shut up if I were you,” Rin says. “My buddy shot you once, and he’ll shoot you again.”

The three of them stumble back down the tunnel. Rin practically has to carry Shigino up the stairs, but they finally stagger into the warehouse.

Rin and Rei wrestle Shigino onto the ground once again. Rin sits on Shigino’s back with RIt’ll be easier to hold him there than it will be holding him standing upright, when he might bolt again at a moment’s notice. Rei pats at Shigino’s hips for a moment, finding a cell phone in one of Shigino’s pockets. He takes it, and dials.

“ _Emergency services, what is your emergency?_ ”

“I need the police and an ambulance, right away,” Rei says into the phone. He glances down at where Rin sits on Shigino’s back, his foot on the back of Shigino’s head. Rin shrugs, and Rei heaves a deep breath. This case is finally going to be over. They made it out alive.

 

***

 

Rei knocks on the door of a hotel room, nervously clutching a paper bag in his hand. It takes a minute for Rin to answer the door, and when he does, Rin looks surprised to see Rei standing there.

“Rei?”

“Rin-san,” Rei says. “Can I come in?”

Rin steps aside to allow Rei into the room, and then follows Rei into the main room.

“How are you feeling?” Rei asks.

“Huh?” Rin says. “Oh, you mean the gunshot. Right. I’m feeling fine. A little sore, I guess. What’s going on?”

Rei lifts the paper bag and holds it out to Rin.

“It’s your cut,” Rei says. “Fifty-fifty, like we promised.”

Rei takes the bag with his left hand – his non-dominant hand, but the uninjured arm. He doesn’t open the bag and glance inside of it, only lets his arm drop to hold it at his side.

“This much cash never looks like as much as they tell you it should in movies,” Rin shrugs. “Thanks for… bringing it by.”

“Rin-san,” Rei says.

“You should really go home this time,” Rin says. There’s not a trace of the warning that had been in his voice so many times before – instead there’s an expression that looks almost sad. “Go somewhere safe and enjoy that money.”

Was coming here really stupid? Rei could have gotten that money to Rin in a dozen ways without having to come here himself. Of course Rin wouldn’t want to see him, not after Rei made so much trouble for him, even got him shot…

Rei pulls courage from somewhere deep in his gut. “Rin-san, I need you to listen,” he says.

Rin looks up from where he had been staring at his toes, his eyebrows knitting as he studies Rei’s face.

“I owe you an apology. I was – rude to you,” Rei says. “I didn’t listen to you, and I said some cruel things, and that was… not fair of me. I got you _shot._ ”

“You didn’t – ” Rin starts. “No, I think – I might be the one who owes you an apology. For treating you like a kid. And telling you to get lost so much. You were – you really helped me out, alright?”

“I mean, technically,” Rei says primly, “ _you_ helped _me_ out, but…”

“You’re so _stupid_ ,” Rin says, eyebrows knitting. With his left hand, he reaches out. Rei almost ducks away out of reflex, but Rin’s hand is quick to cup the back of Rei’s neck and pull him close. Rin’s lips press hard against Rei’s own, yet they feel soft and warm and just a little wet. Rei’s lips part, a little out of shock, but mostly because he wants to feel his lips move against Rin’s.

After a moment, Rin pulls back. He stares at Rei’s lips and licks his own.

“Rin-san,” Rei says.

“That was – ” Rin starts. Color rises to his cheeks, tinting them bright pink. “That was just – ”

“It’s okay,” Rei assures him. “It was – good.”

Rin leans forward and kisses Rei again. Rei hears the paper bag full of money hit the ground after Rin drops it, and Rin pulls Rei towards the hotel bed by his wrists, still with his lips pressed to Rei’s

“Rin-san?” Rei says as Rin sits on the edge of the bed.

“Rei,” Rin replies.

“What are you – ” Rei asks. A possibility dawns on him suddenly. “Do you want to…?”

“Do I want to have sex?” Rin asks. “Yeah. If you want to.”

“…I do,” Rei says.

Rin pulls Rei close for another, longer kiss, letting Rei stand between his spread legs and lean down to kiss him. Rei presses a knee gently between Rin’s legs, against the erection growing in Rin’s jeans.

Rin lays his head back, hair fanning out on the pillow under him. “Be gentle,” he says. “Or those doctors will have my ass for opening up this wound.”

“Okay,” Rei says. He moves his hands to Rin’s hips, then in to undo the button of his jeans. Rei is gentle as he pulls Rin’s jeans down over the curve of Rin’s ass and then off his body completely.

“Your shirt,” Rin says. “Take it off.”

Rei nods. He strips his shirt off and deposits it on the floor next to the bed, in a neat pile with Rin’s jeans. He leans down to kiss Rin again, and slips his hands under Rin’s shirt. He feels Rin’s torso, all muscle under soft skin, and lets his fingers play over Rin’s ribs for a moment.

“Oh, just take mine off too,” Rin says after a minute.

Rin lifts his arms so that Rei can pull off his shirt, and hisses through his teeth. “Ah,” Rin says, flinching at the pain in his bandaged, injured arm. “God, that hurts. Oh, no, it’s okay now,” he adds, catching sight of the look of concern on Rei’s face.

When they kiss again, their bare chests press to one another’s. Rei can feel Rin growing hard in his underwear. Rei slips his fingers under the elastic at Rin’s waist and pulls the boxer briefs down to Rin’s thighs.

“You’re so slow with your clothes,” Rin says. He reaches between them and works at the button of Rei’s slacks with one hand, undoing them neatly. Rei sits up and slips out of his pants, removing his boxers with them.

Rin pulls Rei close again to kiss him. They rut against each other for a bit, their cocks rubbing against skin as their tongues slip against one another’s.

“N-not enough…” Rin mumbles. He drops his hand and grips both of their erections together near the base, and strokes the two of them slowly.

“Rin-san,” Rei breathes. He reaches between them to hold their cocks above Rin’s hand. Rei lets his fingers play over their heads, feeling the wetness of pre-cum on both of them.

The two of them grind hard against each other, both of their cocks slipping between their hands. Rin leans up and catches Rei in another kiss, this time long and slow and deep. Rei focuses on the feeling of his erection pressed against Rin’s and his lips on Rin’s lips, letting the sensations wash over him.

“It’s actually, ah – kind of nice to work with you,” Rin says. “Mm… yeah…”

“You’re very good at this job, Rin-san,” Rei says. He rubs his thumb over the tips of both their cocks, drawing a gasp out of Rin. “You always have been.”

Rin laughs a little. “You’ve gotten pretty good, too.”

Rin bucks his hips up, thrusting his cock against Rei’s palm and along the length of Rei’s cock.

“Are you – ah, are you close?” Rei asks.

Rin lifts his head to look at Rei. “It’s been a while,” Rin says, his voice a little wounded. “You can’t blame me if I’m a little quicker than I am usually.”

“It’s okay,” Rei says. “I – I am, too. Close, I mean. It’s been a while for me, too…”

“Ah.”

Rin picks up the pace of his thrusting against Rei’s palm and Rei adjusts his pace to match. Rei can feel his orgasm building quickly, even more so with the increase in speed.

The slickness of pre-cum lets Rei’s cock slip easily against Rin’s. Rin moans underneath him, his free hand – the injured arm – gripping tightly at the sheets of the hotel bed. With a long whimper from Rin, Rei feels Rin’s cock twitching in his grasp, cum spilling over Rei’s fingers and onto Rin’s stomach. The warmth in Rei’s hips crests, and he finishes seconds after Rin does.

The two of them wait for a minute, catching their breath. It’s Rin that composes himself first. He grabs tissues from a box on the nightstand, and reaches down to wipe himself and Rei clean. When he’s finished cleaning up, Rin lies back and looks up at where Rei is still above him.

“I wouldn’t mind seeing you more often, Rei,” Rin says.

Rei leans down and presses a kiss to Rin’s collarbone, and smiles against Rin’s skin. “I think we can make that work.”


End file.
